Emperor: Battle for Dune

Synopsis

Set shortly after Dune 2000, Emperor Corrino has been killed by his concubine Lady Elara, throwing the Landsraad into chaos. The Spacing Guild challenges the three remaining Houses—Atreides, Harkonnen, and Ordos—to a war of assassins on Arrakis; the winner becomes the new Padishah Emperor. During the campaign, the Tleilaxu collect flesh samples from dead sandworms with hidden motives. After the final battle on an opponent's home planet, the Guild strands the victorious House there and attempts to control Arrakis by genetically engineering an Emperor Worm, empowered by Lady Elara, and releasing a mind-influencing drug in the water supply.

The player must use the Smugglers Guild to return to Arrakis and destroy the Emperor Worm before it awakens. Each campaign culminates in this battle, but subplots differ: House Atreides' campaign focuses on regaining Fremen trust, culminating in an attack on Caladan where Fremen diplomats and Duke Achillus are assaulted by Tleilaxu soldiers, leading to a Fremen alliance. House Atreides generally acts without ulterior motives in assisting factions on Arrakis.

Reception

The game received generally favorable reviews according to Metacritic. Jason Kapalka of Computer Gaming World praised its graphics, cinematics, units, and campaign map, but criticized outdated graphics, AI and pathfinding issues, poor multiplayer, and a sense of deja vu, as well as missing standard control features. Star Dingo of GamePro noted cool ideas but felt the game resembled a 3D Dune-themed add-on for C&C, though it was well-polished, fast, and fun. Jason Samuel of NextGen stated that fans of Westwood's RTS style or those who missed recent Westwood titles would enjoy it, while others should decide if they want more of the same.